Proficiency Tests

California public school students posted small or no gains on standardized test scores last spring, raising concerns about a leveling off of previous achievement increases and continuing debate about the disparities between black and Latino students and their white and Asian peers.

More seniors are passing the state's high school exit exam, but failure rates among poor and minority students remain disproportionately high, and dropouts are not counted in the state's numbers, the state Department of Education said Thursday. As of May, the pass rate for the class of 2007 was 93.3%, a 2.1 percentage point increase over the class of 2006 for that period. The pass rate also was higher for some lower-scoring groups, including African American students, who saw a gain of 4.

For the first time, California has required schools to begin closing the achievement gap, and many schools, even some apparently successful ones, are not hitting the mark, according to data released Friday by the state Department of Education. The results on this year's Academic Performance Index were a mixed bag overall, state officials and some experts said. The same held for the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest school system.

Math skills among fourth- and eighth-graders are showing steady improvement and fourth-graders' reading scores are also rising, according to a federal report released Tuesday. But white students are still scoring far higher than African American and Hispanic students on a standardized assessment of academic proficiency, and that achievement gap is most prominent in California.

The Bush administration unveiled a revamped citizenship test Thursday intended to promote assimilation and patriotism -- a redesign some critics contend erects a higher hurdle for immigrants who want to become citizens. The 100 new civics questions -- which test knowledge of American government, history and civics and take effect Oct. 1, 2008 -- will require less rote memorization and are meant to focus more on fostering identification with American values.

SACRAMENTO -- California drivers could face more intensive vision, memory and reflex tests when they renew licenses if a Department of Motor Vehicles pilot project proves successful in better identifying those who are too impaired to be on the road.

Other fledgling lawyers may toast the news that they've passed the bar exam by popping open a chilled bottle of champagne. Not Kathleen Holtz. When results of the most recent California bar exam are released next month, the 18-year-old law school grad will be too young to drink legally. And, as the youngest practicing attorney in California -- if not the nation -- Holtz is loath to break the law.

James R. Flynn, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Otaga in New Zealand, discovered two decades ago that IQ test scores were steadily rising in the developed world despite failing schools and stagnant standardized test scores -- a phenomenon called the "Flynn effect." During a recent visit to UCLA, Flynn talked about the conundrum, which is the subject of his new book, "What Is Intelligence?" Are children today smarter than their parents?

Federal investigators smuggled the components of liquid-based bombs past screeners in 19 airports nationwide in secret tests earlier this year, showing that a terrorist could thwart the latest U.S. security regulations.

WASHINGTON -- Math scores continued to rise in the Los Angeles Unified School District, but reading is showing no improvement with fourth-graders ranking among the lowest among urban districts, according to a federal report released Thursday. Every two years, 11 urban districts, including Los Angeles, test their fourth- and eighth-grade students in math and reading.